Last updated on September 12th, 2025 at 09:29 am

How can we bring people together? In Palaces for the People the sociologist Eric Klinenberg presents a simple but transformative idea for health, happiness, safety and healing our divided, unequal society. Too often we take for granted and neglect our libraries, parks, markets, schools, playgrounds, gardens and communal spaces, but decades of research now shows that these places can have an extraordinary effect on our personal and collective wellbeing. Why? Because wherever people cross paths and linger, wherever we gather informally, strike up a conversation and get to know one another, relationships blossom and communities emerge – and where communities are strong, people are safer and healthier, crime drops and commerce thrives, and peace, tolerance and stability take root. Through uplifting human stories and an illuminating tour through the science of social connection, Palaces for the People shows that properly designing and maintaining this ‘social infrastructure’ might be our single best strategy for a more equal and united society. (Libraries SA 2025, Palaces for the people: how to build a more equal and united society)

Eric Klinenberg is Helen Gould Shepard Professor in the Social Sciences and Director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University. He has affiliated appointments at NYU Wagner, the NYU Department of Media, Culture, and Communication, and the NYU School of Global Public Health. His research projects focus on cities, climate change, democracy, culture, health, media, technology, and social policy. (New York University 2025, Eric Klinenberg)

•  Section I.1, pp. 1-7. When natural calamities such as heatwaves hit large urban areas, private resources such as working air conditioning can mean the difference between surviving or succumbing to heat stress. In 1995, 739 people perished above the norm for the period of the heatwave. Klinenberg found that communities which had better social infrastructure fared better than those where people lived in isolation. 
• Section I.2, pp. 7-11. Fast forward to 2016, Klinenberg acknowledges the widening divide within society in terms of wealth and access to services. The solution to the divide is repairing fractured society through the building of places where all kinds of people can gather.
• Section I.3, pp. 11-13. US democracy was strengthened by civic participation. Klinenberg discusses the work of sociologists such as Robert Putman (Bowling Alone, 2000) who have been monitoring the decline of civic organisations since the 1950s.  Social interaction through participation of civil society was the social glue which maintained links between the various different strata of American society.
• Section I.4, pp. 13 – 21. Klininburg defines in general what infrastructure is by extending its use from physical infrastructure such as public transport, sewer systems, etc which enrich civic life to the social level. Examples of social infrastructure include: libraries, schools, playgrounds, parks, athletic fields, and swimming pools. When people do not have access to good quality social infrastructure, alienation can follow with the potential rise in negative outcomes such as loneliness, crime and addiction. Klinenberg argues that this is the case in contemporary US society.
• Section I.5, pp. 21-24. Klinenberg argues that investment in social infrastructure can yield economic dividends as valuable as rebuilding US’s ageing physical infrastructure.

• Section 1.1, pp. 25-32. Klinenberg recounts stories of how libraries in underprivileged areas on the US can provide meaningful social interaction to the aged and disenfranchised community members.
• Section 1.2, pp. 32-34. Financial support for public libraries varies enormously from one city to the next across the US. This often is a result of not seeing the social benefits of having a free and safe places for community members even though a study has shown that one half of US citizens sixteen and over use public libraries. 
• Section 1.3, pp. 34-37. Young mothers and their children can access the public libraries freely and plug themselves into programmes which the library provides for no fees.
• Section 1.4, pp. 37-39. Libraries provide resources for individual social and intellectual enrichment. They also allow access to the young and old with programmes tailored to specific age groups. 
• Section 1.5, pp. 39-40. Childcare centres can act as places of social infrastructure providing a place where mothers can interact, build trust, share experiences and learn from each other. 
• Section 1.6, pp. 40-44. Although social media provides greater opportunity to meet new people and to maintain relationships, sociologists indicate that in person communication is humanising, whereas there is always the danger that social media can have the opposite effect. Evidence is one study has shown that young people prefer hanging out in person to smartphone interaction. 
• Section 1.7, pp. 44-46. Free public spaces are an important alternative to commercial public spaces such as coffee shops and food franchises. All too often young as well as the elderly are not welcome in commercial spaces if they are not consuming. Libraries therefore are important free public spaces. 
• Section 1.8, pp. 46-50. Libraries are an important meeting point for converging multi-national and linguistic communities in cosmopolitan cities such as New York. 
• Section 1.9, pp. 50-53. We hear from a librarian on what it means to provide library services to a diverse community. It’s a place which makes no judgment on its members and is open to all. People come to the library for self improvement which can be more than a narrow educative experience, it offers a sanctuary from the maddening world. 

• Section 2.1, pp. 55-60. Klingenberg examines research on safe communities within public housing projects can be safer by design simply by adding social infrastructure which can be shared areas or public facilities such as a library. The research shows that criminality tends to occur more where there is no community surveillance.
• Section 2.2, pp. 60-63. A theory about cracking down on petty crime emerged in the 1970s would lead to less destructive behaviour in communities. Subsequent research suggests that eliminating the prevalence of abandoned properties in communities which have suffered an economic downturn could more likely reduce criminal opportunism. 
• Section 2.3, pp. 63-71. Remediating abandoned buildings turns out to reduce criminal behaviour more significantly than similar investments in policing areas with no remediation.
• Section 2.4, pp. 71-75. Sao Paulo enacted education programmes and regulation to reduce the opening hours of bars and clubs to reduce crime rates. This is a form of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) to create environments where crime cannot flourish. All too often however, CPTED was implemented by constructing gated communities to reduce exposure to violence by physically isolating the upper middle classes.
• Section 2.5, pp. 75-79. Gentrification can reduce crime with the opening of new coffee shops and stores. Where there were empty or damaged commercial premises, gentrification eliminates locations which previously were crime hot spots. 
• Section 2.6, pp. 79-81. Building and maintaining green spaces in underprivileged areas of Chicago reduced criminal activity significantly.

• Section 3.1, pp. 83-86. Designing educational environments to maximise social infrastructure enhances the interaction of students and teachers by increasing locations where informal learning and interaction can occur. 
• Section 3.2, pp. 87-91. Implementing smaller school sizes in some New York areas have contributed to better attendance and higher academic achievement. 
• Section 3.3, pp. 91-96. Since before the Revolution, American tertiary institutions were designed to be social places where students could discuss ideas. 
• Section 3.4, pp. 96-98. The establishment of student fraternities and sororities contributed to the social infrastructure on the university campus.
• Section 3.5, pp. 98-104. Universities were often cloistered from the towns in which they resided. In the case of University of Chicago, the communities which surrounded the campus were poor and black. After following a policy of segregation throughout its lifespan, the university is embracing a more positive attitude to integrate socially with local communities. 
• Section 3.6, pp. 104-110. Universities are experimenting with global outreach by offering online courses worldwide. Called massive open online courses (MOOCs), tertiary institutions begin to extend their boundaries into the digital sphere. A new form of university, Minerva, reduces academic costs significantly by offering online courses and renting inexpensive spaces where students and teachers can meet anywhere around the the world. 
• Section 3.7, pp. 111-116. Libraries have always been institutions where curious members can indulge their interest in topics using library resources. 

• Section 4.1, pp. 117-124. Many countries have faced rising opioid epidemics in citizens. Switzerland combatted death from overdoes by creating safe injection places. Others such as Canada (Vancouver) provided clean needle exchanges. States in the US have also implemented methadone treatment. The key principle seems to be to take away the stigma of addiction by providing a pathway to addiction recovery. 
• Section 4.2, pp. 125-131. Impoverished communities in the urban US have food deserts, areas where it is difficult to obtain fresh food because lack of grocery stores or the cost of fresh food. In Chicago, urban farms where once abandoned land existed began to spring up to provide fresh vegetables for local residents. As well as sources of food, these urban farms are safe places where people can gather.
• Section 4.3, pp. 131-133. Social infrastructure like establishing urban farms improves the health of inhabitants but removing stressful environments such as derelict properties.
• Section 4.4, pp. 133-139. Around the world, the population 65 and over is increasing with large numbers living alone. Countries like Singapore have improved physical amenities for seniors such as accessible parks which increase the quality of life for seniors. 
• Section 4.5, pp. 139-144. At the other end of the spectrum is the spaces for young children in the urban environment. Rising crime in the 1970s led parents to protect their children by isolating them from exposure to streets where they lived. Klinenberg points out the investment which has been made in some parts of Los Angeles which have provide for parks and swimming pools for the younger generation. 
• Section 4.6, pp. 144-146. Studies in the UK demonstrate that poor social infrastructure occurs more in poorer areas but can also exist in more affluent neighbourhoods.

• Section 5.1, pp. 147-154. During the era where many US cities supported heavy industries such as steel and vehicle manufacture, disparate communities were integrated in the workplace. With deindustrialisation, the social infrastructure around the workplace dissolved aggravating the distrust between white and black communities. Social Media has made these divisions worse because information is delivered via algorithms which favour social division rather than building cohesion.
• Section 5.2, pp. 154-159. Public swimming pools in Iceland are a social institution for people across all social strata. Pools bring people together in an intimate setting. Public pools in the last century throughout the US, were once a common amenity in communities but attendance was affected negatively by racial prejudice in a society where segregation was commonplace. Public pools in the US declined as those in affluent white communities built private residential pools. 
• Section 5.3, pp. 159-162. Members of communities which experience prejudice from the larger society often seek refuge in safe places referred to by sociologists as ‘counter publics’. The Black community in the US frequent barber shops and salons where they can exchange information and ideas freely. Black churches are also safe places. For other communities such as the LTBQI+ community can find refuge in gay bars where they congregate free from judgement by the dominant group. 
• Section 5.4, pp. 162-166. Community groups when highly organised can have a positive effect in maintaining social cohesion. They can garner support and  funds from local government to keep social infrastructure such as the community library.
• Section 5.5, pp. 166-173. Local sports associations are an important social infrastructure which bring people together for the love of sport. People from all walks of life are attracted to sport. Participation build relationships with people who will most li be outside of their personal entourage. 
• Section 5.6, pp. 173-176. The Internet and the rise of social media (Facebook, Next Door) have provided safe places where people of like mindedness can congregate. While highly productive in bringing people together, social media in particular may foster group isolation rather than social integration with the larger society.

• Section 6.1, pp. 177-185. Hurricane Harvey in 2017 damages much of Houston. A church reached out to help its own parishioners as well as those who weren’t. It’s an example of how church values can provide social infrastructure which helps mitigate the worst of a natural disaster. 
• Section 6.2, pp. 185-190. Church communities are far more prevalent than all the fast-food franchises in the US. While state and federal organisations such as FEMA are resourced to help during natural disasters, having local organisations which have the capacity to provide community support is an important and possibly more reliable social infrastructure than government emergency services.
• Section 6.3, pp. 190-194. Hurricane Sandy in 2012 caused flooding to coastal US eastern communities. A local library in a New York suburb became the goto resource for local residents. There, they found support before government emergency services were on the ground. It later provided help in filling out forms to get financial assistance from the US government.
• Section 6.4, pp. 194-199. Much of humanity lives in areas which are prone to flooding including New York, Singapore, and entire countries such a Bangladesh. Local communities can become resilient to flooding by reorganising how they provide services such as primary and secondary education. Local grassroots organisations are looking at floating schools and libraries to preserve services during flooding.
• Section 6.5, pp. 199-202. In response to Hurricane Sandy, federal funding was released to protect New York from further damaging storm surges. As well as building seawalls and berms to defend the coastline, such hard infrastructure could be designed to incorporate useful social infrastructure such as parks and other amenities. 
• Section 6.6, pp. 202-204. Projects to protect the coasts can also incorporate better ecological management. Marine restoration projects enhance understanding of the local coastal ecology and encourage the affected communities such as Staten Island, New York, to establish living breakwaters. 
• Section 6.7, pp. 204-207. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, New Orleans has embarked on a long term rebuilding which includes the Lafitte Greenway for mitigating the effects of flooding and which incorporates social infrastructure such as bikeways.

• Section 7.1, pp. 209-213. Klingenberg expresses his mistrust of social media to bring people together giving examples of how Facebook has been used to polarise people along political lines. 
• Section 7.2, pp. 213-224. Klingenberg examines the philanthropy past and present by billionaires to spend their fortunes to advance social infrastructure such as libraries. Andrew Carnegie, the billionaire of the 19th and early 20th century, built thousands of libraries and cultural icons such as Carnegie Hall in New York and truly exhausted his fortune in this pursuit. But Klinenberg wonders if the social media moguls are being duplicitous in their claims that they are spending financial resources to build social capital. 
• Section 7.3, pp. 224-230. Municipal government, post the Great Recession of 2008, have been looking for ways to cut costs. Many have argued that library funding should be cut. But there is a ground swell of interest in maintaining and even increasing funding for an institution which is a primary piece of social infrastructure. Other projects in the US look at how they can bring social infrastructure into the police station to build social bridges between law enforcement and the disadvantaged members of the community.
• Section 7.4, pp. 230-233. As climate change brings real challenges to us, we must integrate social into any hard infrastructure to protect our communities from increased heatwaves, floods and other calamities nature can deliver to civilisation.

• Libraries SA 2025, Palaces for the people: how to build a more equal and united society, viewed on 24 August, 2025, This Libraries SA search yields information about the book and how to borrow it from your local library.
• Moore, R 2018, Palaces for the People: How to Build a More Equal and United Society by Eric Klinenberg – review, viewed on 24 August, 2025. This article is a critical review of Palaces for the People: How to Build a More Equal and United Society by Eric Klinenberg.
• New York University 2025, Eric Klinenberg, viewed on 26 August, 2025. This page offers biographical content about Eric Klinenberg.
• Penguin Books Australia 2025, Palaces for the People: How To Build a More Equal and United Society, viewed on 25 August, 2025. This page provides a list of booksellers which stock Palaces for the People by Eric Klinenberg.
• Talks at Google 2019, Palaces for the People | Eric Klinenberg | Talks at Google, viewed on 24 August, 2025. This 1 hour video is a presentation by Eric Klinenberg on his book, Palaces for the People.